Linfield Makes NCAA Division III Softball Playoffs

The eight-team Division III championship finals will be held May 18th-22nd at the James I. Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, Va.

Jenny Marshall was voted NWC Player of the Year. Photo: Linfield Athletics

McMINNVILLE, Ore. - The Linfield Wildcats will travel to Louisiana this week to compete in the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Linfield, 35-5 this season and champion of the Northwest Conference, departs Tuesday for Pineville, La., to compete in the seven-team NCAA Division III regional tournament, hosted by Louisiana College.

The NCAA selection committee announced the 59-team Division III playoff field Monday morning.

The second-seeded Wildcats meet seventh-seeded Hardin-Simmons (29-14) in Thursday’s opening round. Game time has not been finalized. The Cowgirls are the champions of the American Southwest Conference.

Also receiving bids to the regional are host and top-seed Louisiana College (33-9), the runner up from the American Southwest Conference; Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion Redlands (27-10); Mississippi College (36-8), the third-place team from the ASC; Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference champion Trinity (25-10); and independent representative Chapman (28-11).

After recently capturing its fourth consecutive NWC title, Linfield earned the No. 2 seed in the regional. The Linfield/Hardin-Simmons winner advances to play the winner of the Mississippi College/Redlands winner on Friday.

Linfield earned the berth to the regional tournament as the automatic qualifier from the NWC. The Wildcats won the conference by one game over runner-up Whitworth, which did not make the playoff field.

The regional tournament features six Top 25 teams.

In the most recent National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll, Linfield is ranked No. 3, Chapman is ranked No. 5, Mississippi College is No. 6, Louisiana College is No. 8, Redlands is No. 22 and Hardin-Simmons is rated 25th.

Thirty-five conferences have been granted automatic qualification and seven independents were selected for the 2006 championship.

The 17 remaining teams were selected on an at-large basis from automatic qualifying conferences and the remaining independent institutions

Eight double-elimination tournaments are scheduled to begin Thursday on campus sites. There are five seven-team regionals and three eight-team regionals.

First-round games Thursday are tentatively scheduled for noon, 2:00, 4:00 and 6:00 PM CDT. Game times remain the same as the tournament continues Friday and Saturday. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday at noon, and possibly 2:00 PM, if the loser of that game suffers its first defeat.

The eight-team Division III championship finals will be held May 18th-22nd at the James I. Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, Va., hosted by the City of Salem, and the Old Dominion Conference.

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